One thing I do depend on, though, is e-mail. It’s not so much e-mail itself but I actually use e-mail as a filter for the content that I have decided is really critical to me. You see, I am not an RSS guy. I tend to sign up for too many feeds that I get all giddy over, but then never read because my RSS reader tells me I have several hundred things to read right now. I’m just not wired that way.

What I respond to is something I have opted into that lands in my inbox. It’s kind of cool to get an e-mail from a group or publication that you have said “Yes, I would like to hear from you more often.” I have that relationship with BtoB Magazine and their other properties that centers on this very concept.

I look forward to getting the latest issue of BtoB Magazine. I go to www.btobonline.com, but it’s not the same. ( I find that with most magazines experiences with me which may be just due to my age.) BtoB Magazine is usually a quick read with good information presented in a clear manner. I like that. I also like the fact the one of the reasons I am so connected to the publication is the e-mail alerts available. They are very much like the magazine. They are crisp, clean, and direct, which usually allows me to get in, get out, and move on with some new information.

These between issues e-mails actually make the magazine better for me. Even if there is some overlap in content, I am forgiving because I am getting fed with the right stuff, at the right time (my time) and in the right amount. BtoB has done a nice job of making me a fan and I recommend their suite of offerings to anyone.

Creating content that your customers anticipate is what you should be aiming for all the time. Having several one-hit wonders may create spikes in traffic but they are inconsistent and hard to make plans for.

As with most things in life, people appreciate some consistency, whether it’s from friends, family or even business relationships. If you keep showing up and giving them something they need, they might actually miss you and wonder where you have been if you don’t keep the pace. It’s at that point that you know that you have created content anticipation and that anticipation will lead to engagement, which has a much greater chance of leading to success.

Does e-mail work for you? Is it a way for you to stay connected between content events? If not, what keeps your interest? What makes you anticipate content from somewhere? We’re all a bit different, so it would interesting to hear from some of our readers.

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Of course, when you consider that 95% of the businesses in the US are considered an SMB of some shape or size it should make one think a little more about the impact this market segment has in the overall scheme of things. Unfortunately, ‘too big to fail’ bailouts don’t await the little guy. Instead the SMB needs to make due with what they have and be as smart about how they spend their marketing dollars as possible.

The Center for Media Research has released a study by Vertical Response that shows just where many of these ‘Main Street’ players are going with their online dollars. The big winners: e-mail and social media. With only 3.8% of small business folks NOT planning on using e-mail marketing and with social media carrying the perception of being free (which they so rudely discover it is far from free) this should make some in the banner and search crowd a little wary.

I suppose the question is just what does increased use of social media mean? Will there be money put toward it or will it just be that the effort by the SMB social media practitioner (usually also referred to as the business owner) is increased. We’ll see.

This quote from helps to frame something that most know already but have had a hard time changing.

Janine Popick, VerticalResponse CEO and founder, says “… small businesses continue to allocate portions of their budget to… email and social media, despite the downturn in the economic climate… (but) marketers (still) need to help small businesses to see the value of integrating search engine marketing… into their campaigns.”

Honestly, I am a little confused by some of the findings here because in the next breath we see the following:

According to the study, the most important tool for small businesses to succeed in 2010 is search engine marketing, while email marketing, public relations and social media cited as crucial for success.

23.8% of all small businesses reported that search engine marketing was the tool most needed for their business to succeed in 2010.

So which is it? Do they or don’t they use or want to use search marketing? Or is the better question can they or can’t they? Maybe the way that these findings seem a bit muddy is just a reflection of the struggles that many businesses have with the shift from traditional marketing to the online space.

In 2010 it looks like the rubber is really hitting the road as the Internet marketing industry matures while many may end up just being left behind.

Your thoughts?

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So ClickZ is reporting on a new study by Epsilon who is a, you guessed it, e-mail marketing provider shows that marketing e-mail open rates have gone up recently.

The “Epsilon Q1 2009 Email Trends and Benchmarks” report found open rates hit 22.1 percent in the first quarter, up 11.2 percent from the rate of 19.9 percent the researchers found in Q1 2008. The study was compiled from 6 billion e-mails sent to more than 200 clients by Epsilon in January, February and March, and it combines data from both the company’s proprietary platforms, DREAM and DREAMmail.

In addition, deliverability is up slightly in Q1 ’09 over Q1 ’08 (94.1 to 93.4 % respectively) and the open rates have gone up in 12 of the 16 measured industries year over year. Doing well is financial services with 31% open rate and doing not so well is retail apparel at 14.3%.

Critical components of successful e-mail marketing are content, timing and frequency, list hygiene and list growth. Company sources also see “savvy use by marketing departments of transactional and trigger-based messaging such as purchase confirmations, statement-ready alerts, and flight confirmation letters to deliver marketing content.”

The next bit of data I find somewhat hard to believe involves purchases that are attributed to e-mails.

Another recent Epsilon study found that 59 percent of Asia Pacific consumers made offline purchases as a result of e-mails. That figure was 53 percent for North Americans and 37 percent for Europeans, said Epsilon. “Sophisticated marketers are incorporating triggers, transactions, preferences, segmentation and other advanced analytics to produce more successful campaigns,” the report said.

For you e-mail marketing pros out there do these numbers sound on target? Am I just one of those folks that probably won’t be reached by e-mail while the rest of the world is waiting with bated breath for the next sales pitch in their inbox? Do tell.

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The report talks about how inboxes are getting more and more cluttered with marketing messages. After looking over the findings it appears as if the direction that e-mail recipients are heading is toward having had enough of the practice. I know how I react to e-mails that I have opted – in to receive. I take a brief look at the subject line and if it is not something that can make me slow down for a second it’s deleted. Not to say that my behavior is normal but I suspect that the patience level on these techniques is waning.

Some findings to consider

• Time spent with permission email has stabilized since the gains seen last year. 59% of all email users spend twenty minutes or more with permission email weekly, with just over one- quarter spending an hour or more weekly

• The biggest reasons subscribers choose to opt-out of permission email continue to be lack of relevance (cited by 75%), followed closely by sending too frequently (73%)

• Slightly over half of respondents said that they were less willing to sign-up for email communications when compared to just a few years ago – showing that they are exercising caution

As with most studies those who want to support the use of e-mail as a marketing tool can find numbers to support their position. The other side of that equation is true as well. One thing that is nice is that the highest percentage of e-mail time is reserved for friends and family. Great for news for keeping up with the college crew but maybe it explains some productivity issues at the office as well.

The final piece of information most noteworthy to a subject near and dear to our hearts here at Marketing Pilgrim is about brand reputation. The report says that 30% of respondents have stopped doing business with a company based on their e-mail marketing practices. Ouch.

So what do you do? Even if you opt-in are you paying attention to the e-mails that come to you? Are you more or less tolerant of e-mail that falls outside of business or personal direct connections? We know about ad blindness but is e-mail blindness just as real?

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